Nonclogging pumping device



Nov. 10, 1953 M. E. WALTERS 2,658,453

NONCLOGGING PUMPING DEVICE Filed July 22, 195o Patented Nov. 10, 1953 NONCLOGGING PUMPING DEVICE Michael E. Walters, Huntington Park, Calif., as-

signor to Pacific Pumps, Inc., Huntington Park, Calif., a corporation of California Application July 22, 1950, Serial No. 175,389

13 Claims. l

The present invention relates in general to pumps, and, more particularly, to a pumping device which includes a pump and means for preventing clogging of the pump by solids entrained in the iluid being pumped, the provision of such a pumping device being a primary object of the invention.

Since the present invention nds particular utility in connection with centrifugal pumps for use in oil reneries, it will be considered in such connection herein for illustrative purposes, although it will be understood that the invention has utility in connection with pumps of other types and that pumping devices embodying the invention may be used in other installations. In oil refineries, coke tends to accumulate in the lines and towers 'and pieces thereof, which irequently attain egg size, occasionally become detached from such accumulations. Such detached coke particles become entrained in the fluids ilowing through the lines and, unless they are small enough to pass through the centrifugal pumps customarily employed to circulate the fluids through the lines, tend to clog the pumps. The coke particles lodging in the pumps increase the fluid pressure drop through the pumps and, unless removed, may ultimately clog the pumps to such an extent as to substantially prevent ow therethrough.

An important object of the present invention is to eliminate the foregoing diiiculties by providing means for disintegrating such coke particles, or other solids, before they enter the pumps so as to reduce the particles to sizes sufficiently small to pass through the pumps.

More particularly, an important object of the invention is to provide a pumping device which includes a pump and disintegrating means for reducing the particle size of any solids entrained in the uid being pumped to a value suiiiciently small to pass through the pump.

Another object is to provide a pumping device which includes rotatable pumping means and which includes disintegrating means driven by the rotatable pumping means.

Still another object i's to provide such a pumping device wherein the rotatable pumping means includes a rotor mounted on a shaft and wherein the disintegrating means includes an element carried by and rotatable With the shaft, the disintegrating means traversing the inlet of the pump so as to reduce the particle size of solids entrained in the iluid entering the pump.

Another object is to provide a pumping device which includes a pump having two inlets, which includes strainer means for preventing the entry into one or" said inlets of solids exceeding a predetermined size and for diverting solids exceeding said predetermined size into the other of the two inlets, and which includes disintegrating means traversing the second inlet for reducing the par ticle size of the solids entering the second inlet.

A further object is to provide a nonclogging strainer means, the strainer means being inclined at an acute angle with respect to the direction of flow oi fluid entering the first inlet and being substantially parallel to the direction of fluid ow entering the second inlet so that solids exceeding the predetermined size are continually carried' away from the strainer means.

Another object is to provide a pumping device having a single rotatable pumping means which receives fluid from the two inlets. Another object is to provide a pumping device wherein the rotatable pumping means is of the centrifugal, double-aXial-intake, radial-discharge type.

The foregoing objects and advantages of the present invention, together with various other objects and advantages thereof which will be come apparent, may be attained With the exemplary embodiments of the invention which are illustrated in the accompanying drawing and which are described in detail hereinafter. Referring to the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional 4view of a double-aXial-intake, radial-discharge, centrifugal pump which embodies the invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged, fragmentary, transverse sectional View taken along the broken line 2-2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, longitudinal sectional View similar to Fig. l but illustrating another embodiment of the invention; and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged, fragmentary, transverse sectional View taken along the broken line li-d of Fig. 3.

Referring particularly to Fig. l, illustrated therein is a double-aXialintake, radial-discharge, centrifugal pump having a housing iii which includes an open-ended body l l and which includes closures I2 and E3 for the ends of the body, a shaft assembly I4 being carried by bearings l5 and I6 in the closures l2 and i3, respectively. The body il of the housing I0 provides a pumping chamber Il for a rotatable pumping means which includes a centrifugal rotor I3 carried by the shaft assembly I4, the rotor I6 being provided at its ends with axial inlets I9 and 2l) which communicate with radial outlets 2I through intervening passages 22 and 23, respectively. The body I I of the housing IIJ is provided with a main inlet 24 the downstream end of which communicates with two auxiliary inlets 29 and 39 respectively communicating with the inlets I9 and 20 at the ends of the rotor I8. Preferably, the inlets I9, 29, 29 and 30 are annular and encircle the shaft assembly I4. The body II of the housingr I is also provided with an annular outlet chamber 3i which encircles the rotor I8 and communi- Cates with the outlets 2I therein, the body of the housing further being provided with an outlet 32 which communicates with the annular outlet chamber.

Disposed in the main inlet 24 and traversing the auxiliary inlet 39 is a strainer means 36 which prevents the entry of solids exceeding a predetermined size into the auxiliary inlet 39 and which deflects such oversize particles of solid matter into the auxiliary inlet 29. The strainer means 36 permits the entry into the auxiliary inlet 30 of solid particles which are sufficiently small to pass through the rotor I8 readily without any danger of clogging, the oversize particles deflected into the auxiliary inlet 29 by the strainer means being reduced to sizes sufficiently small to pass through the rotor by a disintegrating means 31, as will be described in more detail hereinafter. As clearly shown in Fig. 1, the strainer means is inclined at an acute angle to the direction of iiow of fluid into the auxiliary inlet 30 and is generally parallel to the direction of fluid flow into the auxiliary inlet 29, this being accomplished by disposing the strainer means obliquely of the main inlet 24 with one edge thereof extending into the auxiliary inlet 29. The strainer means 36, in the particular construction illustrated, is supported in the desired position by means of a ring 33 seated in a groove 39 which encircles the main inlet 24. As a further deterrent to clogging of the strainer means 36, it is convex upstream with respect to the direction of flow of fluid through the main inlet 24 so that any oversize particles intercepted :by the strainer means are continually washed therefrom into the auxiliary inlet 29 by the flow of fluid into the auxiliary inlet 29, which is another feature of the invention.

While the strainer means 36 may be of wire mesh, I prefer to form it of rods 40 which are spaced apart in a direction normal to the plane of the drawing, the spacing between the rods 40 being suiciently small to screen out solids which are large enough to tend to clog the pump, but being sufliciently large to avoid any appreciable fluid pressure drop through the pump. As will be apparent, forming the strainer means 36 of rods 40 generally parallel to the direction 0f flow of fiuid entering the auxiliary inlet 29 is a further deterrent to clogging of the strainer means.

The disintegrating means 3'I is disposed in and traverses the auxiliary inlet 29 and is adapted to reduce the sizes of solids entering the auxiliary inlet 29 to values sufficiently small to pass through the rotor I8 freely, the disintegrating means being driven by the shaft assembly I4, which is a feature of the invention. The disintegrating means 3l may be of various types, two different embodiments thereof being illustrated in the drawing. Considering first the embodiment of the disintegrating means 3l' which is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, it is of the meat grinder type and includes a helical screw 45 which is keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft assembly I4 so as to be rotatable therewith and with the rotor I8, the screw 45 being operable in a chamber 46 formed by a recess in a member 4l which traverses the auxiliary inlet 29 and which is bolted or otherwise secured to the body I I of the housing I9. With this construction, fluid entering the auxiliary inlet 29 flows therethrough into the chamber 46 and through perforations 48 in the member 4l into the inlet I9 of the rotor I8. As will be apparent, any solid particles entering the auxiliary inlet 29 which are too large to pass through the perforations 48 are disintegrated, i. e., crushed, by the screw 45 and are forced through the perforations 473, the latter being sufficiently small to insure that the solids are reduced to particles suiciently small to pass through the rotor I8 freely. Thus, it is impossible for any particles sufficiently large to clog the passages through the rotor I8 to enter the inlet I9 thereof, which is an important feature of the invention.

The body I I of the housing I0 is provided with a clean-out opening 50 therein which is normally closed by a detachable closure 5I, the purpose of the clean-out opening 56 being to permit removal from the auxiliary outlet 29 of any solids which fail to enter the disintegrating means 3l, as by being too large to enter the screw 45. Ordinarily, it is unnecessary to clean out the auxiliary inlet 29 in this manner except after prolonged use of the pumping device.

In Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawing, I show an embodiment of the disintegrating means 3l which is similar to the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the only difference being that a propeller member 55, keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft assembly I4, is substituted for the screw 45, the same reference numerals being employed for all other components. The propeller member 55 includes a hub carrying a plurality of radial vanes 56 which disintegrate solids entering the auxiliary inlet 29 by a chopping action, the pitch of the vanes being such that they propel the fluid and the solids disintegrated thereby through the perforations 48.

Thus, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a pumping device which cannot Ibecome clogged by solids and, although I have disclosed exemplary embodiments of the invention herein for purposes of illustration, it will be understood that various changes, modications and substitutions may be incorporated in such embodiments without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

l. In a pumping device, the combination of: a pump having a main inlet and an outlet and having two auxiliary inlets communicating with the downstream end of said main inlet; means for separating solids exceeding a predetermined size from solids of said predetermined size, or smaller, and for directing the solids exceeding said predetermined size into one of said auxiliary inlets and the solids of said predetermined size, or smaller, into the other of said auxiliary inlets; and means traversing said one inlet for disintegrating the solids exceeding said predetermined size.

2. In a pumping device, the combination of: a pump having a main inlet and an outlet and having two auxiliary inlets communicating with the downstream end of said main inlet; strainer means traversing one of said auxiliary inlets for preventing entry thereinto of solids exceeding a predetermined size, solids exceeding said predetermined size entering the other of said auxiliary inlets; and disintegrating means traversing said other auxiliary inlet.

3. A pumping device according to claim 2 wherein said strainer means is inclined at an acute angle to the direction of flow through said one auxiliary inlet so as to prevent clogging of said strainer means.

4. A pumping device according to claim 2 wherein said strainer means is inclined at an acute angle to the direction of ow into said one auxiliary inlet and is generally parallel to the direction of iiow into said other auxiliary inlet so as to prevent clogging of said strainer means.

5. A pumping device according to claim 4 wherein said strainer means comprises a plurality of spaced, substantially parallel rods inclined at an acute angle to the direction of iiow into said one auxiliary inlet and generally parallel to the direction of fiow into said other auxiliary inlet.

6. A pumping device as dened in claim 2 wherein said pump includes a rotatable pumping means and wherein said disintegrating means includes an element carried by and rotatable with said rotatable pumping means.

7. A pumping device according to claim 6 wherein said rotatable pumping means includes a shaft carrying a rotor, said element of said disintegrating means being carried by and rotatable with said shaft.

8. In a pumping device, the combination of a double-axial-intake, radial-discharge, centrifugal pump having a main inlet and having two axial, auxiliary inlets spaced apart axially of said pump and communicating with the downstream end of said main inlet, said pump including rotatable pumping means comprising a shaft extending through said auxiliary inlets and carrying a rotor disposed between said auxiliary inlets; strainer means traversing one of said auxiliary inlets for preventing entry thereinto of solids exu ceeding a predetermined size and for deflecting into the other of said auxiliary inlets solids exceeding said predetermined size; and disintegrat ing means traversing said other auxiliary inlet and including an element carried by and rotatable with said shaft for reducing solids exceeding said predetermined size to a size suii ciently small to pass through said rotatable pumping means.

9. A pumping device according to claim 8 wherein said disintegrating means includes a stationary element cooperating with said rotatable element to reduce the size of the particles exceeding said predetermined size.

10. A pumping device according to claim 8 wherein said strainer means is inclined at an acute angle to the direction of flow of fluid into said one auxiliary inlet and is generally parallel to the direction of flow of iuid into said other auxiliary inlet so as to prevent clogging of said strainer means.

11. A pumping device according to claim i() wherein said strainer means includes spaced, subn stantially parallel rods inclined at acute angles relative to the direction of ow of liuid into said one auxiliary inlet and generally parallel to the direction of ow of uid into said other auxiliary inlet.

12. A pumping device according to claim 2 wherein said strainer means is convex upstream.

13. In a pumping device, the combination of: pumping means having two inlets; means, including strainer means traversing one of said inlets, for diverting to the other of said inlets any solids exceeding a predetermined size; and disintegrating means in said other inlet.

MICHAEL E. WALTERS.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 367,564 Wade Aug. 2, 1887 2,027,015 Bell Jan. 7, 1936 2,029,766 Durdin Feb. 4, 1936 2,042,641 Victoria June 2, 1936` 2,496,359 Rymann Feb. 7, 1950 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 146,935 Switzerland May l5, 193i 

